The invention relates to archery bows for hunting and target applications, and more particularly to a stabilizer and vibration damper adapted to remove bow thrust and torque which occurs due to involuntary muscle contraction while the archer is holding the bow in a drawn highly tensed state and due to shock when the arms of the bow return to rest after the arrow is released. The thrust, torque and shock affects the arrow's cast, significantly reducing shooting accuracy.
Archers have long tried to improve the accuracy of the bow by employing various types of stabilizers and vibration dampers designed to remove vibration during sighting and after arrow release and to reduce the shock imparted to the handle of the bow by the springing bow arms. Refer to examples of prior art in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,589,350, 3,628,520, 3,670,712, 4,245,612, 4,570,608, 4,615,327, and 4,660,538. Most have used concentrated weight at the end of a relatively long rod attached either to the upper, the lower, or to both the upper and lower ends of the bow handle. Some have been rigidly mounted, some resiliently mounted. Some use rubber-like resilient dampers, others use viscous fluid coupling the bow handle to the weighted rod. Although such prior art devices have undoubtedly improved the accuracy of a bow, the invention disclosed here greatly enhances bow stabilization and vibration reduction through implementation of certain unique engineering concepts.
One very recent contribution to the art comprises an elongated tubular housing, closed at both ends and having a mounting stud at one end, and carrying within its sealed chamber an elongated cylindrical metal slug extending approximately half the length of the chamber. The slug is carried toward the outer end of the unit between cushioning compression springs, and toward the mounting end is a flat washer also carried between compression springs. Also carried within the chamber is a substantial amount of fluid having the general viscosity of automotive brake fluid. The outside diameter of the washer is slightly less than the inside diameter of the chamber, and the outside diameter of the cylindrical slug is slightly less than the washer. The washer acts as an inhibitor to the shifting flow of the fluid and the cylindrical slug at the forward end serves as a means of absorbing the energy of vibration and thrust during use of the bow to which the unit is mounted. This use of a shiftable solid mass in a fluid bed appears to have significant advantages over stabilizers introduced prior to it, however, experimentation has shown that performance characteristics in a stabilizer can even be more greatly enhanced by distributing comparable mass the entire length of a stabilizer casing as comprehended in the present invention.